Just Passed All Exams - Study Tips and Strategy

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Emily Margulies
Hi everyone,
 
I'm a longtime reader, first-time poster. This forum has helped me a lot, so I'm here to add my two cents in case it's helpful to anyone. A little background on me: I worked in various firms for about 3 years before and during graduate school, and decided to set aside some time post-graduation to focus exclusively on exams. I began studying hard in late March and passed the last one in mid-July, 6 for 6. I've outlined my thoughts below and in the attached chart.
 
STUDYING
 
First, for most efficient studying, I strongly recommend taking the exams in the following order: PA, PPD, PDD, CE, PjM, PcM. PA is a good warmup exam, not too scary. PPD and PDD are the longest and most difficult, so if you get those over with early, it'll be smooth sailing from there. And if you fail them early, then at least the retakes won't extend your overall test-taking timeline by too much. CE, PjM and PcM have a lot of content overlap so it's helpful to group them. (You could swap the order of PjM and PcM and it wouldn't much matter.)
 
At the outset, definitely read the ARE 5.0 Guidelines for basic test info. Then try the Demo Exam and watch NCARB's ARE 5.0 prep videos to familiarize yourself with the interface and question types.
 
Then, as you begin studying for each exam, read over the relevant section of the ARE 5.0 Handbook and try all the practice questions. I would also skim through that exam's Community blog page to see if anyone who passed the exam posted helpful study advice. 
 
Generally, I recommend buying a third-party study guide, and studying that in conjunction with some of NCARB's listed primary-source reference materials. People say that studying third-party guides will help you to review test material, but that studying the primary sources will make you a better architect. Beginning with a general guide and supplementing with real references will ensure you get an overall conceptual primer plus the best-quality detailed information.
 
See the list below and the attached chart for my recommended study materials and strategy. The list NCARB provides can be intimidating, but I found the following resources to be indispensable:
 
Ballast ARE 5 Review Guide
Generally a decent starting point for each division.
 
Building Codes Illustrated 2012 IBC
Explanation and imagery to accompany the actual code, which can be dense and hard to understand.
 
2012 International Building Code
The code itself, free online. It's important to read this in conjunction with BCI, because this is what you'll actually have to reference on the exams.
 
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
Federal accessibility standards, free online.
 
Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice
A great, practical, readable book written by practicing architects. Huge and expensive, but worth it in my opinion.
 
AIA Contracts
Online access included with purchase of AHPP. May also be available through your firm.
 
Schiff Harden Hanahan Lectures 2016
Helpful lessons from a construction lawyer on AIA contract interpretation.
 
I've heard that additional NCARB primary sources (Building Construction Illustrated, Site Planning and Design, etc.) are also very good, but personally I relied on the list above.
 
As for practice questions, NCARB's Handbook questions are of course the best. I also like these Designer Hacks question packages - they're about $30 for 300 questions, good for preparing for tests that you're feeling less confident about. The Ballast practice questions are hit-or-miss. The questions can be mediocre and contain typos, but there's often new information in the solutions that wasn't listed in the main study guide. I recommend going through them to read the answers.
 
TAKING THE TESTS
 
In the tests, I budget my time as follows, and I found it to be a pretty successful, non-stressful strategy.
 
First I go to the "exam overview" option at the bottom of the window, navigate to the case studies, and make a note of which references are provided. For example if they provide an excerpt of ADA 2010, and there's an earlier individual question that relates to ADA, I might be able to use the resource to answer that question. Then I try to move rapidly through the individual questions, making my best guess for each one, and reaching the case studies with 1.5-2 hours to spare. I "flag for review" any questions I'm unsure about, and make a written note of questions that I'd be able to solve better if I had more time. I often take my break after finishing the individual questions.
 
Next, I do the two case studies. I begin by reading the scenario and very briefly skimming the references, then I approach each question one by one. I flag the most difficult ones for follow-up. Case study questions always take me much longer per question than the individuals, usually about 1-1.5 hours total. I try to finish with about 30 minutes left for review. Within that review time, I first look back at flagged case study questions, then my "needs more time" individual questions, then my other flagged individual questions. I do this until the clock runs out.
 
The most important thing is to not get hung up on any one question. They are each only worth one point. It's better to go with your gut instincts and get through the whole thing, than to deliberate and end up leaving questions unanswered. Don't forget: You can use the "find" feature in the case study pdf's, you don't have to read everything. An on-screen calculator and physical scratch paper are provided. In drag-and-drop questions, you can right-click on items to rotate them. There are on-screen highlight and strike-through tools that I find very helpful.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS
 
In general, these exams are much more intuitive and fun to study for than any other standardized test I've taken. The testmakers do a really good job of answering questions posted to the Community. And they say they have really tried not to create trick questions - the answers are meant to be straightforward.
 
Good luck!
 
- Emily
 
 
EDIT SEPTEMBER 2018:
 
Be advised: NCARB has made it known that "starting on October 1, ARE 5.0 will reference the newest version of the AIA Contract Documents and the 2015 International Building Code."
 
Also, "Candidates should expect to see additional questions related to the following contracts:
  • A133-2009, Owner-Construction Manager as Constructor Agreement
  • A195-2008, Owner-Contractor Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery
  • A295-2008, General Conditions of the Contract for Integrated Project Delivery
  • B195-2008, Owner-Architect Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery"

So although these are not mentioned in the guide below, it seems they will be integrated from this point forward.

 
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    Nancy Redenius

    Thanks for sharing such a detailed and thorough review of your test-taking experience and the resources you used to pass your tests, Emily. I found this very helpful.

    I am taking PA and PPD next and I am curious how much you felt that these tests tested on the IBC and ADA content. It is so much information and I am trying to figure out how much time I want to dedicate to studying those resources vs how much time to spend reviewing more "general" siting and design concepts.

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    Emily Margulies

    Hey Nancy,

    In my experience, for PA and PPD, it is important to know some basic concepts of IBC and ADA. ADA-wise, it's a good idea to learn the fundamentals of ramp dimensions and turning spaces - these can come up on space planning questions. For IBC, it's most important to be conceptually fluent in egress concepts, as well as occupancy types, construction types and their relationship to building size. (And I highly recommend renting BCI on Amazon, it makes understanding IBC way easier.)

    Mostly you'll be tested on your ability to find the answers you need within the code. Still, those questions can be difficult to approach if you've never seen the material before, so familiarity with concepts is definitely key. Read through the relevant ADA/IBC chapters until you feel you understand the substance, then move on.

    Good luck!

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    Nancy Redenius

    Thank you, Emily! That is very helpful. And congratulations on passing all of your exams!

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    Farley Snell

    Wow! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to write up such a clear and referenced summary!

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    Kurt Fanderclai

    CONGRATULATIONS on passing all of your exams.
    That said, this is probably my least favorite method of participating in the forums.

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    Ryan NCARB

    Really helpful post Emily...Thanks!  And congratulations on completing the ARE.

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    Sonja Mason

    Echoing the above, congratulations on passing and THANK YOU for posting. I need help getting started, and you have done that for me.

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    Theresa Bort

    If this is the Emily Margulies I think it is, you were my first introduction to NCARB, and now we've come full-circle! I'm halfway through my tests and gearing up for a retake of PPD. I was under-prepared for the new test format the first time I took PPD, but I think your test-taking tips will help me a lot. Thank you for sharing!!

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    Natalie Thomas (Edited )

    Can anyone tell me why Building Codes Illustrated 2012 is $522 on Amazon and Building Codes Illustrated 2015 is only $50? Is it important to get 2012 and not 2015?

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    Luberto Velez

    Hi Emily,

    Thanks for this post and congratulations on passing.

    A couple of questions. On the Project Management test, what edition of AHPP did you study from. It seems like different editions have different content on same chapters.

    Also which year of the Harden Lectures you used. Also the same concern as with AHPP.

    This will help very much without giving any "spoilers". Rather it will avoid confusion.

    Thanks! 

     

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    Emily Margulies (Edited )

    Luberto,

    AHPP 15th Edition and lectures from Spring 2016.

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    Eric Curry

    Great info Emily! Congratulations for passing!! if you don't mind, did you have a specific study schedule?

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    Rogelio Marzan Hernandez

    Oh Wow! This post is what I was looking for!!! I just did the transition from 4.0, and now I'm preparing my materials for my last two (PDD and PPD) Thanks a million Emily!!, Also, It's really amazing how you did it with these six tests in such a short time. Congratulations for that!!!

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    Luberto Velez

    Rogelio de la UPR?

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    Rogelio Marzan Hernandez

    Siiii .... Luberto!

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    Luberto Velez

    Diaaaache!
    No te puedo dar mi contacto por aquí pero si llamas la oficina nos ponemos al dia. Un abrazo y éxito mi hermano!
    www.d2architecture.com

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    Pragati Maulikkumar Shah

    Emily - Congratulations on passing all the exams. Thank you for posting strategies and I specially appreciate the color coded chart. It is very concise and helpful. 

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    Pritesh Saxena (Edited )

    Congratulations Emily on clearing all your exams in one go. I am wondering if anyone (or you) in this forum is willing to sell the used study material for my use. I have just been cleared to take my exams (ARE 5.0) by the board and I am in the process of collecting the study material for my exams. Let me know if you anyone else is willing to sell.

    Thanks!

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    Lisa Wang

    hi Emily,

     

    how long did the whole process take?

    thanks

    Lisa

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    joshua nicoara

    is anyone else missing the image at the end of the post?

    -Josh

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